Originally Posted by
Fly Aiprt
I'd say any test pilot will perform the tests he is asked to perform, but they don't have command of what becomes of their flight reports.
Gone are the Concorde days when test pilots were part of the development team...
Now be it in the US or not, the issue will be how will they ensure that the test aircraft is 'MCAS-free'.
On the other hand, what do those continuous test flights on Flight24 mean, whereas Boeing says their fixes have been ready for weeks now.
Or does the leaked email really mean that new issues are still appearing day after day ?
Actually 2 questions:
How will MCAS be disabled for the test, simplest would likely be a software load but that might raise questions of what else changed. Might also be possible by a HW/wire mod.
Either one of course puts thing squarely in "test pilot" territory.
Vefying MCAS free should be possible by taking it to conditions where it should kick in and verifying no trim action.
The continuing flight may be collecting more data for simulator or exposing additional pilots to real aircraft response.